Diluent of Blood
by Holix
Summary: On the way to the Baratie for the first time, the crew stops to restock on food in a troubled little town. They'll help fix its problem, but they're going to get more than just a "thank you." Namely, they're getting a new crew member.
1. Monthy Loan

For the last week and a half, harsh rain had poured down upon the soggy island almost without stop. As a result, mud slides had been occurring all over the two mile island recently, which was a new thing to the inhabitants, human and animal alike. Heavy rain pelted the widows of the small city, located on the sleepy island of Turtle Soup.

Despite all the rain, the slums of spine city somehow managed to retain its rather impressive collection of filth. It was almost as if the dirt and grime was as much a part of the slums as the rats, gutters, and gangs were. Somehow, the building's red brick had turned black over the decades. Black with what, no one was sure. Only, if you stared at it too long, you might begin to think it moved, as though the filth of the city had a life all on its own.

In one of those dirty buildings, a "transaction" of money was taking place.

"C'mon, John, your loans are due today. A thousand berri is all we ask. Ellen surely wouldn't like it if you didn't pay up. Tsuru wouldn't like it, either." The slim man gestured over his shoulder to the woman who was clearly the muscle. But not because of her build; which was, in fact, rather average, if not a bit slim. But rather her impressive height of six feet or so declared her the muscle. Or, perhaps it was just the cold, unfeeling stare she was giving him. Could have been either one, he decided.

Tsuru pushed off the wall she was leaning on, stepping into the dim shop-light. She ran tan fingers through her shoulder length, dark hair, clearing it from her eyes. For a moment, it slicked the soft strands back, before they spilled forward again, her bangs sliding back to their normal position, partly obscuring her dark green eyes.

"Now, now, Mr. Jennings, your darling daughter would be ever so _distressed_ if you were to miss another payment. And we can't have that, now can we? Especially in her current state of frailty, that might send her back to the good doctor's ward," she walked closer to the man, tapping his nose with a single finger, making him blink and flinch. She had never liked intimidating innocents very much, but she was just so darned good at it, sometimes.

What was one to do, but follow their talents? Stupid mistakes were stupid mistakes. All she could do was to make the best with what she had.

John swallowed hard, determined, "Don't you dare touch my little girl you-you…" he trailed off, quickly reigning in his anger before if boiled over. "I-of course, I have the money here," John flipped over to face the cashier's counter he had been leaning against, popping the register open and digging around for a small bundle of cash.

Tsuru's companion spun around at the sound of the wooden stairs creaking. "Father? Are you alright? I heard yelling…" a quite voice sounded from the stairs. A teenage, frail-looking red head peeked out from under a worn, thin blanket. Her sickly pale hand gripped the stair's railing, her grip tightening as her brown eyes watched the two intruders. Pale lips were pursed, her face flushed beneath a canvas of freckles.

"I'm fine, Ellen. Go back to bed." Ellen looked warily at the two intruders, comprehending the situation quickly. Despite her young age of fourteen, Ellen was unfortunately well accustomed to the antics of the thorn gang. They were well known for liking two things- money and women. There were even rumors that the second in command, one of the only females in the gang, liked both of the gangs favorite things. But then, that was just rumor, and Ellen had never been one for gossip. Besides, no one had ever seen her do anything lewd, illegal, or violent…

Though she never said anything, Ellen strongly suspected that this was one of the reasons she was so high ranking, so feared. Because she didn't_ need_ to do any of that

"Yes, father…" she backed up, turned, and padded up the old stairs, stumbling only once. The soft 'click' of what must have been Ellen's bedroom door sounded throughout the quiet home.

With a slight glare, John turned back to the two, addressing the male. "Here," John handed them the bundle of bills. "This makes up for two payments. This month's and last." Tsuru's eyes watched the spot Ellen had been standing in for a second longer, before flicking them back to the shop owner. She hadn't looked too well. Vaguely, she hoped the girl would survive whatever illness that was plaguing her.

"Thank you, Mr. Jennings. We will return next month to collect your next payment of five-hundred berri." The smile of the slim man was slicker than oil, and John felt like he could slip on it if he tore it off the man's face and stepped on it. He ignored the urge to test his hypothesis.

He nodded, eyes set in stone, "Now kindly leave my shop. My home." Grey eyes watched the two leave the shop, his strong forearms crossed tightly over his dirty, stained apron. Damned bandits. They'd been here for years, like a festering wound in the heart of Spine City. He remembered the days when there was no Thorn Gang. Only, he wished Ellen could remember those days. But she was too young. He had never wanted his child to grow up, at least not like this.

Tsuru inclined her head toward the shop owner, before exiting through the wooden door and into the harsh downpour of the bone-chilling rain. She glanced back to see her companion, Jevona, following close behind her. Her eyebrow perked, seeing the sudden look of shock pass over his face.

"Jevona, what's the-" Tsuru was interrupted as a heavy something-or-other barreled into her stomach, a surprised expression crossing her features as she was knocked into a puddle of something she'd rather not think about. "What the-… would you get off?" A straw hat and the smell of the salty sea invaded her senses unapologetically.

"Wa-hoo! Meat! Meat, meat, meat, meat, meat!" The excited, young boy bounced off her, in a literal sense that made her stare, making a bee-line for the wooden door Jevona had just barely managed to exit from in time. Jevona glanced at her, a brow raised. What did she want to do about this… problem?

"Luffy, you idiot, watch where you're going!" Despite the fact that she was lying on her back, raining pouring into her eyes, Tsuru picked out the distinctly female and rather angry-sounding voice over the deafening rain.

"Hey, you okay?" A deep, male voice asked her.

Midoriiro glanced up to see a light-green haired man offer his hand to help her up. How cute. She nodded, but passed up Zoro's hand, preferring to get up without assistance from some stranger.

"I'm sorry, are you okay?"Nami asked. The pretty red-head had a genuine expression of concern set on her features. Despite this, Tsuru's instincts said something was wrong. She shook it off, deciding that this was the female voice she'd heard only moments ago. She didn't sound nearly as angry as she had a second ago, however. In the back of her mind, Tsuru wondered if this suspiciously genuine change in emotion is what struck her as odd. Most people didn't work like that.

"Fine," Tsuru flicked some of the dirty water off her shirt, picking up her heavy, oversized jacket and draping it over its accustomed perch on her shoulders. She straightened a few other aspects of her clothing, before glancing up to meet the two, eye to eye. Interesting. Although she couldn't place who the red-head might be, she knew she recognized the man with green hair. But, where from? She shook off the feeling, deciding to think about it later.

"Tsuru, do you…" Tsuru gave a sharp glance to Jevona, silencing him. There was no need for violence. Not only that, but Zoro gave off an aura that just screamed "don't mess with me." Not particularly surprising, given the three swords strapped to his hips, implying none-too-subtly that he was a fighter. He wasn't the only one that gave her reason to think twice, though. The happy-go-lucky boy made her double take, too, and she couldn't place the reason why. And that's what worried her. The way he'd knocked into her, bouncing around like he was made of rubber. "You…" Jevona trailed off, realizing that the question had already been asked. He gave an easily faked smile to the two, edging out of range of the swords. His eyes watched Tsuru, awaiting a command.

Nami frowned, "I'm sorry about that…" Over their shoulders, Nami glared at Luffy, who was flailing wildly as he talked to the disturbed looking shop owner. For the most part, the snippets of the one side conversations that Tsuru couldn't ignore were usually loudly screamed, basic words. Like "meat,' or "want," or even "why."

Tsuru smiled, "don't worry about it, miss." She glanced over to Zoro for a second, before settling back to Nami. "Please, don't let me and my companion keep you." She stepped out of the way of the two. "Have a pleasant evening…" Jevona sidled over to her slowly, watching Zoro. He was just… intimidating. Tsuru smiled, watching the two with a level stare, her hand out in a gesture for them to follow after their hungry captain.

Nami smiled, nodding her thanks, "you too," she wished, walking into the store, dragging Zoro behind her, who was watching them with suspicion. Tsuru held his gaze until he was force to turn to enter the shop. She frowned once the two were gone, pulling her eyes from the door to Jevona.

Tsuru gestured for him to follow and he did so without complaint, glancing over his shoulder once. The two left before the green-haired man and the red-headed girl noticed their absence, too busy berating their companion, who was currently shoveling an alarming amount of meat down his throat which seemed to be... expanding? This was something to be reported. Gerald would want to hear about this.

---Thorn Gang HQ, 21:00 ---

"Gerald, sir!" A rather short, conniving man turned around to face one of his lackeys and his second in command. He leaned back in his chair, knowing full well that in the dim light, neither of the two could see his face, obscured by the dark shadows. He liked it like that. He looked down to the two, steepling his fingers.

"What is it?" Gerald asked the out-of-breath lackey. The two must have run here. Tsuru stood tall and calm, hardly short on breath. She had always been a good runner. Even in those floppy, white slippers she always seemed to wear. He'd never figured out how she'd managed it. Eventually, he'd just accepted it as just one of "those things." Tsuru had a lot of things surrounding her were ultimately chalked off as just one of "those things."

"At the butcher shop, Sir…" he gasped, sucking down another breath.

"Did he give you trouble?" Gerald adjusted in his seat. That man was always giving them trouble. But how much trouble would he give if he accidentally broke his leg, or if, one night, his darling daughter was found, dead in one of the slum's dark alleyways? The world was a path of endless possibilities. And it was so easy for bad things to happen to unfortunate people…

"No, he had customers of a strange… caliber" Tsuru stepped in for the panting lackey. Her fingers were laced behind her head, and she stood tall, her breath barely more erratic than her normal breathing pattern. Which happened to be barely breathing. Sometimes, Gerald had to watch her chest carefully. To see that she was actually breathing, of course. She had a nasty habit of looking dead when she slept. It was a bit unnerving to anyone who wasn't used to it.

Gerald looked at her, considering her words. "Jevona, you're dismissed." Jevona turned quickly, making a hasty exit upon hearing the Gerald's rigid tone of voice. The Boss's stone eyes waited until Jevona left before saying, "These customers, were they pirates? Bandits? Officers?" He spat the last word. He'd paid off enough officers of the navy to keep the gang out of trouble, but you never know if those sneaky bastards were planning something. It was so hard to find reliable rats in the navy nowadays.

"It's very possible they were pirates, Sir. There were three of them, none past twenty. Two men, and a woman." Tsuru chewed her bottom lip, thinking of other details she could recall. She just wished she could place where she knew the green-haired man from.

Gerald stroked his chin thoughtfully. "What else?"

"The girl was a red-head, short shoulder-length hair. She was skinny, pretty, but otherwise average. The oldest man had light green, short hair, and one ear was pierced, he was tall, and fairly well built. Fighter-type, carried three swords with him, two black and one white. And the youngest boy had a straw hat. Black hair, gangly, still in the muscle development stage; he was probably no older that sixteen."

Gerald continued to stroke his chin, "Dismissed." Midoriiro turned to leave, heading back outside; intent on finding those could-be pirates. Something struck her oddly, like a good omen.

~~~ Hooray for re-writing this piece of crap…~~~

Oh, holy hell. She seems evil. I swear she isn't, though. Really.

I know, I know, tell me all about it in your review.


	2. Join the Crew!

"Luffy!" Nami waved a hand desperately in front of her captain.

Luffy briefly stopped shoveling food down his throat, "What?" He asked, mouth still full.

"Did you even notice that girl you knocked over?"

Luffy cocked his head at Nami, "Who?"

Nami sighed, smacking her captain, "Baka. How do you expect to pay for all the food you're eating right now, anyway?"

Luffy shrugged nonchalantly, before beginning to shovel more food down his throat, "You've got lots of treasure. Can you pay it for me?"

Nami looked outraged at her captain, "What?! Me? Pay for your food expenses? No way!"

"Why not?" Luffy asked, confused.

"Excuse me, but you knocked down Tsuru?" John, the butcher asked.

Nami looked at the butcher, her expression a mixture of annoyance and apology, "Yeah, sorry about knocking over one of your customers."

"No, she's not one of my customers; she's second in command of the Thorn gang," John clenched the handle of his cleaving blade hard, his knuckles turning white.

"Thorn gang?" Zolo asked, suddenly curious.

Nami swiveled her head toward John, "Do they have a bounty?"

"Yes, the Thorn gang was formed by Gerald Renold 'bout seven years back. He's been recruiting since then. They say before Gerald came here, he used to be a pirate."

Luffy turned toward John now, too, his mouth stretched into an unnatural shape, his hand still imbedded in his mouth, "Pirate?" He asked through muffled teeth.

"Yeah, they've been a real menace, especially in this part of town. But the Marines won't deal with 'em cuz' their too smart to trouble the rich folk. Damned bandits."

Luffy swallowed the meat, his normally happy-go-lucky attitude lessened, "Bandits?" Nami and Zolo glanced at their captain. It sounded almost as though he had something against bandits…

"Luffy, you wanna drive those guys outta town?" Zolo asked, unsure of his spontaneous captain's mindset.

"Yeah." Luffy answered, appearing deep in thought.

"Really?" John exclaimed, "That's great news! If you do, I'll let you eat as much of my meat as you want, free of charge!"

Luffy's eyes widened, "Really?!" he exclaimed, ecstatic , "Cool! Let's go find those bandits!" Luffy rocketed out of his chair, heading straight for the door, his beforehand dark and brooding state forgotten completely. Luffy ripped open the door, throwing it nearly off its hinges, and proceeded to knock over Tsuru for the second time, her hand raised to knock on the door, face the epitome of surprise. "Hey!" Luffy shouted, leaping off Tsuru and standing in the rain. "You're one of the bandits, right?" Tsuru stared at him. Was he some kind of idiot? What kind of question was that?

"I suppose you could say that…" Tsuru rolled over, sweeping up and placing her jacket back on her shoulders for the second time that night. She glanced around, realizing her left slipper was missing. "There you are," she mumbled, taking a few paces and flipping the upside down shoe over, sliding her foot in. "Anyway, let's step inside, for I assume there's something you want to talk about."

Luffy nodded, "Yep, we sure do." The two stepped inside, Luffy taking point.

Tsuru closed the door behind her. "I apologize about my current state of… dryness. Or therefore lack of, anyway." John didn't say anything, just merely nodded.

Luffy sat down opposite Tsuru, hands planted firmly on the knees of his spread legs. Tsuru sat cross-legged, leaning against the back of her chair. "So…" Began Nami, "Your a bandit?"

Tsuru nodded, "Of sorts, I suppose."

"You and your gang have gotta leave." Luffy said, crossing his arms.

Tsuru blinked at how firm he sounded. They seemed like good people, especially for potential pirates. Good enough to be trusted. Tsuru smirked, laughing to herself. "Oh, believe me, captain, for that is what I assume you are, but if getting rid of the Thorn gang was that easy, I would have done it myself long ago." Tsuru watched in vague amusement as a collective look of puzzlement passed over the group. "And now I suppose I must elaborate. But first, let me clarify a few things with Mr. Jennings, here."

The aging butcher crossed his arms, "And what would that be?"

"How long ago did Gerald set up the Thorn gang?"

John's eyebrow's furrowed, "Seven years ago or so. You know this."

"Do you remember how bad those days were?" Tsuru asked, turning toward the butcher.

"How could anyone forget…" He trailed off, unsure where she was going with this.

"Do you remember about three years ago, everything started to begin lightening up? Payment lessened, becoming less expensive and frequent. The beatings even started to lessen soon after that." The man nodded, eyebrows still furrowed. Where was she going with this? "Do you remember when I was promoted to second in command, Mr. Jennings?"

John nodded silently, "Yes, about three years ago…"

"Do you still believe that to be coincidence, Mr. Jennings?" Tsuru glanced around the room. "Have you four figured it out yet, or do I need to elaborate more?" She watched the four's gears turn as they thought hard.

Suddenly, Nami smacked a curled fist into the palm of her open hand. "You've been trying to shut down the Thorn gang, haven't you?" Nami realized, pointing a finger at Tsuru.

"Three years now, starting in two weeks and four days." Tsuru nodded, "The three of you actually came in at a good time. I was planning on getting arrested robbing lieutenant Clobane's house next Tuesday."

John interrupted, "That's suicide! His place is guarded by vicious dogs all night long, you'll be torn to pieces!"

"A risk I'll have to take." Tsuru sighed, she had always been fast, and rather stealthy, as well. "I need to get caught robbing someone they consider important before they'll begin to shut down the Thorn gang.

"Nonsense, you can't pin the blame on the Thorn gang if your dead." John said, putting down the large cleaving knife.

"That's why I got this, naturally," Tsuru shrugged off the large jacket and rolled up her sleeve, revealing a slim, thorny vine that started at her wrist and spiraled up her arm, starting at a sharp point on the underside of her wrist and gradually getting thinker as it traveled up her arm. "I don't believe even the thickest Marine would be unable to make the connection, even if the gang denies I was second in command.

"Even so, you'll go to jail." John continued. How had no one noticed this seemingly obvious pattern?

"For petty theft? No more than a few years, at most." Tsuru nodded, she had been contemplating this plan for some time. She had always been a thorough, methodical kind of person.

"Nope," Luffy interrupted Tsuru's cautious planning.

"Excuse me?" Tsuru asked, cocking her head to the side.

"You're not going to jail. You can't."

"And… why not?" Tsuru asked, his logic evading her.

"Because you're joining my crew, and I can't have you in jail, because you'll be no help, then!" Luffy grinned, happy to have accomplished that much so far.

~`~`~gasp!`~`~`~

Weren't expecting that, were you? Anyway, sorry it's all so short, I'll start making longer chapter soon, I swear. Review and such!


	3. To the Marines

"I… what?" Tsuru questioned, leaning forward. He had just asked _her_ to join his crew? She knew there was a first for everything, but still. "No," she decided. She had too much to do, trying to take down the Thorn gang. The tall girl got up and began to head for the door to leave.

"Waaaiiiittt!!" Luffy wailed, winding his arms around Tsuru's left leg several times, making it impossible for her to progress forward, backward, or just about anywhere. "You can't leave, you haven't seen the ship yet, and you haven't meet Ussop!" She raised an eyebrow, Ussop? She turned away, attempting and failing to drag her leg to the door. Defeated, she turned toward his crew, "Is he always like this?"

The redhead smiled, "Pretty much."

The swordsman nodded, "Once Luffy decides you're joining his crew, you don't really seem to have much of a choice anymore." Tsuru stared at the two, realizing this really couldn't be very good. The two sounded as though they had resisted joining his crew at first as well, and neither struck her as the weak-willed type.

She sighed, running a hand through her shoulder length, dark green hair, "no, I need to get rid of the Thorn gang."

Luffy bounced up to his feet. Literally. Tsuru leaned back, unused to the bouncy boy. He began flailing and dancing wildly, clearly overjoyed about something that seemed to elude everyone in the room except him. "Why didn't ya say so," Luffy's grin quite literally reaching from ear to ear. "We're gunna defeat them, too!" Luffy announced, grabbing Tsuru's hand and dancing erratically, making her glasses begin to slip down the bridge of her nose, askew, "you can help us defeat 'em, and then you can join the crew!"

Tsuru blinked, beginning to understand the crewmember's answers. He really was… always like this. She sighed, letting her face fall onto her awaiting palm as she pulled away from Luffy. "Fine, I'll join your crew only, and only if the Thorn gang is completely eradicated from this city," she set her terms firmly. She had already been here for three years, and she wasn't leaving until the Thorn gang was officially ruined. Smirking, she realized something, "Actually, now that you're here, that means I can fast forward my plans."

Nami's eyebrows creased, "how so?"

Tsuru smiled, "Well, now that you're here, I can actually have someone break me out of jail, instead of having to break out, myself."

Zoro tilted his head, "I thought you where going to get caught and serve some time."

Tsuru laughed, "Get caught? Yes. Spend my sentence in jail? No; the entire population of the convicted members would tear me to shreds. Besides, I've got better things to do with my life. Anyway, you, my pirate-y friends, are going to bust me out of jail, and, your going to be Thorn gang members when you do it, too."

Luffy tilted his head, "But we're not members," he pointed out blatantly.

Tsuru blinked at the slow boy; was he for real? "I… know," she raised an eyebrow, "that's why you're going to _pretend_ to be Thorn gang members," she elaborated, watching Luffy's mouth form a perfect "O" shape.

"Well why didn't you say so?" He demanded. Tsuru opened her mouth to say something, but closed it, shaking her head. "Okay!" Luffy shouted. "So when do we start?" He asked, an enormous grin plastered over his stretchy features.

"Well," Tsuru started, "no sooner than tomorrow, but I'll have to check his schedule, and make sure it's a good time..." she trailed off, making unseen calculations.

Zoro snorted, " what, are you going to _ask_ him if tomorrow's a good time to rob him?"

"Of course not, I've already copied down his schedule for this month out of his date book, but I haven't memorized it, yet," she answered, biting her lip and staring at the wall intensely. "Originally, I had planned to rob him on the fourteenth, because a week after, they're hosting a marine ball. So, security will be lax, or at least lowered, giving me a much better chance to escape successfully," Tsuru continued, revealing her immaculately planned and detailed scheme, earning a few raised eyebrows.

Nami smiled, "You really know how to do your research. Maybe we could work together sometime." Tsuru raised an eyebrow, seeing a suspicious glint deep in her eyes. What kind of work, she wondered…?

"Maybe," Tsuru commented, slightly uneasy. It all seemed to be going so well…

~~ The Next Night ~~

Tsuru crouched silently against the small mansion's wall, scanning for guards. Or dogs. Especially dogs. The thought of the large, growling and snapping beasts sent shivers down her spine. She had never liked dogs very much. Breathing in a single deep breath, she peeked around the corner and into a large, bay window. Searching carefully, Tsuru concluded there was, indeed, no one awake in the house. Digging into her small satchel, she found what her hand had been blindly searching for. Her glasscutter. Carefully, she etched out a large enough hole for her to fit through, before glancing down and spotting the carpeted floor beneath the window. Smiling, she decided there was no need for the precarious suction job she had originally planned for.

With a slight jab of her finger, the glass fell inward, landing on the plush carpet without a sound. Grinning like a Cheshire cat, the sleek robber slid through her neatly carved hole and into the silent house, everything going according to plan. Placing the glasscutter back into her pouch, she pulled out a large sack and began placing some valuable looking trinkets into it absentmindedly, listening for any signs of movement throughout the house. A sudden, light creak of the floorboards on the second story grabbed Tsuru's attention. Finally.

Eyes wild, she whipped her head around, spotting a delicate looking vase perched on the edge of the kitchen counter, above a rich, hardwood floor. Perfect. All but diving toward it, she pushed the vase with a gloved hand, sending it crashing loudly toward the floor. Whispering an obscene sentence as loud as she could, the cat burglar hoped to attract as much attention as believably possible for someone who supposedly didn't want to get caught.

Tsuru froze as she heard pounding feet race down the elegant staircase, seeing the lady of the house, followed closely by her husband. She cringed at the shrill scream that was let out, accompanied by the loud shout for help. Remaining in a shocked position for a second longer, the veiled thief then took off back toward the bay window, large sack slung over her shoulders.

Realizing she wouldn't be able to get out of the house fast enough through the snug hole she had created, Tsuru swung the sack on her shoulder at the large windowpane, shattering it with a combined sentence of momentum and weight. Nothing gave people a burning drive to take down a large thug gang quite like randomly destroying stuff. Especially big, fragile stuff that you're supposed to be careful with. Humans are such strange creatures, are they not?

Jumping through the large opening, Tsuru landed harshly on the grass, taking a half-moment to recuperate before speeding down the hill, hearing the shouts of men and beasts close behind her. Swallowing hard, the nervous thief sped up slightly, having been given new incentive. Why did their have to be dogs? Racing into town, the black-clad thief kept straight, making sure to keep the marine's within sight of her.

Tsuru drew in breath hard now, the sack heavy on her shoulder. Slowly, she slowed down; beginning to take more and more turns in the effort to look real. Suddenly, marines blocked the path in front of her, a leashed dog barking wildly. Finally. Skidding to a halt, she was tackled from behind by a marine. Surprised, she fell face-first onto the ground. Had they really been that close to her? Apparently, they had.

"Do-… Don't move!" the marine on top of her managed through several deep breaths. Tsuru struggled half-heartedly, for, in truth, she was happy to have been caught. She went limp after a moment, content to let the cool earth in the alley calm her erratic heart as the marines restrained her. Leave it to the marines to get something done. They may take forever and a day, but they always seem to get it done in the end.

~~ Marine HQ- Interrogation Room ~~

"… Give it up, girl. We know you're part of the Thorn Gang. Just give us the names of some of your conspirators, and maybe we can cut a deal," Tsuru crossed her arms and looked away with a sneer, huffing slightly at the marine captain whose eyes bore down onto her intimidatingly. The captain grabbed her wrist, yanking it toward him and pulling up her sleeve, revealing the thorn tattoo that spiraled up her arm. "So then what do you call _this_? I call it proof," the marine captain cooed smugly.

Tsuru ripped her wrist out of his grip and re-crossed her arms, snorting haughtily, "You've got nothing, _captain_," she sneered, " You can't prove that I'm part of the Thorn Gang with just a tattoo," the thief said as huffily as she could manage. Somewhere, in the far-reaches of Tsuru's mind, she wondered if she could get any more obnoxiously self-righteous.

"You're right, girl…" the marine captain said, a superior air about him, "but I'm sure some of the citizens in the slums will be happy to tell me just who exactly you are." Tsuru's face fell slightly; he was _good_ at his job. "We, the marines, have stood idly by for too long. But now, we have the perfect crime to get you, and all your little gang buddies locked up where you _belong_."

Snorting, she crossed her arms tighter. He had her. Now, there was no way he couldn't start to arrest the thorn gang members, especially if he talked to the people living in the slums. A secret smile graced her lips; she had brought nearly every low-ranking gang member into the slums to collect loans with her at some point over the last three years, almost always calling them by their names in front of whoever they had been collecting loans from at the time. "What's so funny?" The marine asked, an eyebrow raised.

"I suppose the game's over, isn't it?" Tsuru smirked, feeling that she was getting rather good at convincing this captain the Thorn Gang was nothing but bad news.

"This isn't a game," the captain crossed his arms, glowering at her.

She waved her hand passively, "Of course, captain. Anyway, I suppose I should try for that deal, shouldn't I?" The captain's arms loosened slightly as he nodded.

~~ 48 hours or-so later… ~~

Tsuru watched as Nami flirted with the jail guard, giggling sweetly like the bashful girl she certainly wasn't. Silently, she glanced behind her to the window, waiting for Luffy, Zoro, and this Ussop to complete the plan.

"Gum-Gum Rocket!" came a cry from behind the cell wall, drawing the guard's attention. Tsuru covered her face as the back of the cell wall was blown out, a few, large, chunks of debris bowling into the iron bars and ripping them open. "Yeeeaahh!" Luffy pumped his fist into the air, not noticing as a bullet from the guard bounced off his rubbery chest. Zoro moved to step inside the building and take care of the guard, but Tsuru beat him to it.

Leaping through the widened bars, she tackled him, jabbing a single finger into his neck, hitting the Vagus nerve between the internal jugular vein and the external carotid artery, and pinched the nerve. Nami watched in shock as the guard struggled, his breathing suddenly stopped. Tsuru released her finger as soon as the guard passed out, grabbing Nami's hand and dragging her toward the cell. Nami glanced behind her to see the guard breathing steadily again, passed out, "You have to teach me that, Midori-chan…"

Tsuru nodded, clambering through the iron bars, "Maybe another time, Nami-san." Nami nodded silently, reaching the outside before Tsuru. The crew took off with nothing more than a passing nod, racing to the ship. Tsuru grinned, happy she had thought ahead to ask Nami to bring her things onboard. Turning the corner, Tsuru spotted what she knew had to be the Merry-Go, given that it had a giant ram on the bow. Luffy rocketed onto the ship as the rest of the crew climbed onboard, readying the Merry-Go for departure in just minutes.

Laughing, the crew shoved off from port, gathering in the kitchen after they made sure the Marine's weren't in pursuit. Which they weren't, luckily. Nami grinned, a mug of ale in hand, and slung a shoulder around Tsuru, cheering, "Hurrah for the newest member!" Tsuru leaned away slightly, unused to the happy, touchy-feely crew.

"Uh… yeah." The perturbed crewmate said slowly.

Zoro laughed, slapping her on the back, "C'mon, Midori-san, have some fun!" He shoved a tankard of ale in her hands, challenging her to a drinking contest. Tsuru grinned, but shook her head, knowing she had never been much of a drinker. Instead, she sat back, preferring to watch the crew's crazy antics for the rest of the night.

Tsuru leaned against the mast, finishing the last of the batch of tea she had made. Being the only relatively sober crewmate left, she had opted to take watch for the night. Behind her, Tsuru heard the creak of the door opening and closing. "Midori-san?" She blinked, not really recognizing the voice.

It had to be Ussop. She turned her head, seeing the slightly shadowed face of Ussop in the dim light, coming from inside the kitchen, "Yes, Ussop?" She turned around completely to face him, "Did you need something?"

Ussop shook his head, "Nah, I just came by so I could Introduce myself. I'm the Great Captain Ussop!" He grinned in the dark, jerking him thumb toward his chest.

Tsuru smiled, "I guess I'm just crewmate Tsuru Kuro." Ussop's face visibly paled, even in the dark, and he jumped back a few feet, causing Tsuru to reach out slightly, concerned, "Ussop?"

Ussop pointed a finger at her, "don't come near me, Kuro! I knew you looked familiar when I first saw you, but I couldn't place it! Now I know for sure, you're related to Captain Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates, and you're out to get revenge for him!" Ussop blurted wildly, backpedaling toward the kitchen.

Tsuru stepped forward, hands outstretched, "Ussop!" The deck door sprung open, revealing the rest of the crew in various states of dress.

Luffy raced toward Ussop, "Ussop, what is it? Are we under attack?" Luffy flailed wildly. "Who's attacking us?" He screamed, running in a circle.

"Luffy, Midori's a spy from Captain Kuro!" Ussop wailed, setting Nami and Zoro on guard toward her.

Luffy stopped mid-flail, "No, she's not, she's part of the crew," Luffy objected, confused.

"No, no, no! She admitted to it!" Ussop flailed dramatically, an accusing finger pointed at Tsuru. Zoro and Nami glanced from Ussop to Tsuru, who had her face buried in her palm.

"Why don't we let Tsuru-san speak," Zoro suggested, hands resting on the hilt of his swords.

Tsuru looked up, glancing about, "Okay. Well, yes, Ussop, my surname is Kuro, and I _am_ related to captain Kuro-"

Ussop pointed dramatically at Tsuru, "Ah-HA!"

Nami smacked him over the head, "Let her finish, Ussop!"

Tsuru raised an eyebrow, but continued, nonetheless, "but last I checked, my cousin, the captain Kuro, was captured and killed by the navy, wasn't he?" She glanced around, seeing the crew go silent, the only noise being Luffy's loud teeth chattering.

"I-it's c-c-cold!" Luffy rubbed a bare arm.

"That's because you're not wearing a shirt, idiot!" Zoro snorted.

Tsuru rolled her eyes, "says the man wearing his pants backwards." Zoro looked down to find she was right. His pants were, indeed, on backwards.

Zoro opened his mouth to retort, but Nami cut him off, "guys, how about we go inside and discuss this?" Nami's idea met a murmur of vague agreements as the crew filed inside, taking a seat at the wooden table. "Anyway," Nami continued, taking control of the situation, "seeing as Midori-san doesn't even know about what really happened to Kuro, I kind of doubt she's really a spy for Kuro. Besides, there's no way she could have been waiting there for three years, just to join the crew and sabotage us. We only just defeated Kuro, anyway," Nami concluded smartly. The crew glanced around, deciding Nami's conclusion made the most sense.

Nami stared pointedly at Ussop, who apologized to Tsuru sulkily. The cranky redhead smiled, seeing the two make up, "Now that that's over, I'm going back to bed." She sighed, walking back down the stairs, and to the girl's cabin.

Luffy, Zoro, and Ussop got up, stretching, and headed down the stairs, bidding Tsuru a 'good night.' The shell-shocked crewmate sat in her chair, watching the crew disappear into their cabins. Tipping her chair back against the wall, she smiled, then giggled, and then started laughing, a hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter. A minute later or so later, Tsuru regained control of herself, and leaned forward. Sucking in a breath, she slowly let it out, repeating the process another three times before she got up, heading outside to begin her watch again. Hopefully, with out anymore unneeded interruptions.

~~ Another chapter! ~~

Any who, while Kuro and Sanji are the main characters, you won't actually be seeing them for a little bit. Okay, well, you'll probably never actually see Kuro, cuz', well, he's just not going to appear. As for Sanji, I'll probably get around to him next chapter, if I condense the meeting of Zoro's old buddies. (I'm actually only getting around to this part because I decided to condense the Thorn Gang thing down from about 4,000 words, to 3,000 or so, because it really wasn't all that relevant to the story, aside from character building)

So, no, I didn't forget about him, if you were wondering. Poor Ussop is so unloved, sometimes.


End file.
